Things I Think…
1. No political party has a “biblical worldview”. The worldview of the Bible is that Gods people are in exile…waiting for their true home. Any other worldview is your preference, not holy writ…
2. “Liberty” in the Bible has nothing to do with personal political freedoms…read that slowly one more time…liberty in the Bible is freedom from the bondage and penalty of sin in Jesus Christ…which enables you to forsake your “rights” in order to serve Him and others…put that in your “biblical worldview” and smoke it…
3. I’m going to keep saying this until you get it…Jesus conquered all earthly powers through sacrificial love, suffering, and death…and any “victories” the church wins will come the same way…
4. If you can barely contain your contempt and hatred for those you consider your enemies, you have cut them off from the Gospel and offer it only to those who agree with you on temporal, political or cultural issues. You are part of the problem, not the solution…
5. If you offer the Gospel mainly as a solution to temporal political and social issues, you are assuming the establishment of a new Christendom and you are an idiot…
6. If you want to know what a “Christian ” America would look like…get a load of the Southern Baptist Convention….
7. Is this “woke’? Asking for a friend…
““The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed,” (Luke 4:18 ESV)
8. Your decision to wear a mask or not to wear a mask, to receive the vaccine or refuse the vaccine, has nothing to do with your relationship to Christ or your proximity to His will…these are not issues of faith, but of informed medical choice…whether I agree with your choice or not is my problem, not Gods. I respect any choice other than the one to make these decisions markers of faith or the lack thereof…
9. The real “spiritual war” I see being waged is against anything that makes us uncomfortable or demands that we change…even if that change is consistent with a true “biblical worldview”. I’m uncomfortable every time I preach, because I know how far short I fall from what the Word says…my worst enemy is always in the mirror…
10. It’s hard to sell “love your enemies” when we can’t stand each other…
Bonus: There will be day when we have true liberty and real freedom…and it’s my hope…my only hope…
“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.”
(Romans 8:18–25 ESV)
Spot on with all 10!
Thanks, Bob!
The spirit of Elijah speaks on…
Great thoughts this week.
Amen x 10 and the Bonus too.
Michael,
Do you feel like you’re shouting into the wind–a gale force wind at that?
Number 4 gives me shivers…
Fil,
I’ve spent most of my adult life alternately screaming and urinating into the wind…#4 was really all I wanted to say today…
Bob @ 10:35 ! AMEN, AMEN, AMEN
…soaking it it…
Lots of good stuff here. Hard. Convicting.
Thanks!
I just have one thing to add…to all those who are losing sleep over wokeness….
Get over it. You’re aiming at the wrong enemy and fighting the wrong war.
Michael
All ten put me in mind of something called “conversion”. It’s a word that used to mean something…
Amen to all.. the second statement reminding us of the true meaning of “liberty” in Christ is something we all need to be reminded of! I really do believe that today’s Christians who have been radicalized to believe that the United States owes them a special entitled place at the head of the table have lost sight of the true, original meaning of “liberty in Christ”. May your reminder bring people back to the true gospel, Michael!
BoC, good words!
Amen BoC!
#3- is really something to contemplate. I wonder how much of the so-called church, even how much of me for that matter, is willing to come to grips with this sobering fact. I think it is safe to say that any victories the church actually won in history have only been won through sacrificial love, suffering, and death. The only thing I would add regarding Christ’s conquest of all earthly powers is Resurrection. The Resurrection effectively rendered any power they may have had completely and utterly ineffective.
#9- If I might add is absolutely brilliant. In a culture, even the Christian subculture, that emphasizes unbridled self-love it is easier to peg another poor soul as the enemy than it is to assess the image looking back at you while brushing your teeth. Introspection that penetrates deeper than a centimeter is a lost art. Maybe better yet it is willfully ignored for the false security of comfort. BTW I look forward to each Tuesday when you release “Things I Think.” It is usually one of the highlights of my week.
Shawn,
Thank you for your comments and thank you for reading…it helps to know others are thinking along with us…
#6. I think organized racism has come roaring back in the SBC. It was laying low, biding it’s time, since the Civil Rights Movement exposed it.
Nathan,
Here is another nail in the coffin that is SBC:
https://julieroys.com/august-boto-satanic-scheme/
When leadership of the SBC executive committee calls the movement to address sex abuse in the SBC “a satanic scheme to completely distract us from evangelism”, time to drive a stake in heart of this abomination that is the SBC.
As to all of you posters here who somehow think the SBC can be cleaned up and changed from the bottom up, don’t fool yourselves. The upper management and national umbrella organizations of the SBC need to be burned to the ground.
R’as Al Ghul is right.
Michael, this is the part that struck me most…….
“…which enables you to forsake your “rights” in order to serve Him and others…”
Well said.
It’s the forsaking of rights part that seems the most difficult to many….Jesus did not come to help you stand up for your rights. In fact, it seems to me He didn’t spend much time/effort standing up for His own rights. When He found Himself in human form, He became a servant…. this is the example.
I can’t even say I know what “woke” is supposed to be, guess I’m out of touch….. #7 is woke, then I guess woke began a couple thousand years ago or so….. ? 😉